


More than Nothing

by VengeanceAngel



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Hurt Johnny Lawrence, I Don't Even Know, I might end up putting non-con in here, It's been in my head for awhile, Johnny Lawrence deserves love, Johnny Lawrence needs a hug, Johnny confesses his past, Spoilers for all Three seasons, This broke my heart a little, Touch-Starved, Watch for changing tags, it's sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:41:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28973748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VengeanceAngel/pseuds/VengeanceAngel
Summary: Johnny has gone through a lot and he usually laughs it off or acts like it isn't a big deal, but Daniel is attempting to get to know the other man so they can be the best senseis for their kids that they can. Daniel finds out there is a lot he doesn't know about Johnny's life or what he's been through.
Relationships: Amanda LaRusso & Johnny Lawrence, Amanda LaRusso/Daniel LaRusso, Amanda LaRusso/Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence, Amanda LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso & Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence, Johnny Lawrence & Ali Mills, Johnny Lawrence/Original Female Character(s), Johnny Lawrence/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 37
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LMT](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LMT/gifts).



> I put a bunch of relationships on there, but for the moment, it's really tame. I expect this to change as I continue and the tags will change as well as the warnings and the rating. But this part just needed to get out before I exploded with it. 
> 
> There's a lot of hurt/comfort going on here. Johnny breaks my heart in general and I wanted to use that to write something that makes a little more sense to me. Yes, there could be some rough stuff in here at some point. I pretty much write all Explicit Slash Non-Con stuff that's out there, but I can veer off at times so... this might be that. Either way, I would love if you keep an open mind. 
> 
> Inspired by I am Not Nothing by Beth Crowley. Listen to it and it might give you a good idea of the emotion that's going on. 
> 
> ALSO inspired by LMT's Error 404 Mercy Not Found because that is what started this train of thought in my mind. If you haven't read it, please do! I laughed out loud more than a few times! It's amazing. :) I'm gifting this as a thank you for the laughs I needed that day.

The whole idea was to get to know each other and a drink out seemed like a good place to start. But the silence was deafening and Daniel decides maybe he should go ahead and do something about it because he is pretty sure that Johnny is more than happy sitting in the quiet and drinking and pretending Daniel's not even there. 

Daniel looks over at Johnny and frowns. “So… this whole thing with uh… Ali.”

Johnny glances over and then takes a swallow of his beer. “What thing?”

 _Yeah, Daniel... what thing? Jesus... great conversation starter..._ “Neither one of us made it too far with her, huh? Not even out of high school.” He swirls his drink in its glass. “I was wrong, you know.”

Johnny stops and turns to look at the other man. “Wrong?”

Daniel nods. “Yeah, man. Look… Amanda is such an amazing woman and I know every day, without a doubt, that I don’t deserve her.” He shrugs. “And I love her. I love her so much.”

Johnny feels something that is way too much like emotion and he turns back to the bar to stare at the varnished wood. “Well good for you.” 

“I didn’t love Ali. I loved the idea of her. I thought she was cute and nice and… if it weren’t for you… I probably would have left her alone after that first night. But I wanted you to suffer and-“ He sets his drink down hard. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry that I acted like… like…”

Johnny turns his head to look at him, his head still bent toward the bar over his drink. “Like a teenager?” He straightens up and takes another drink before shrugging his shoulders. “That’s what we were, LaRusso. Teenagers. And we weren’t thinking straight.”

“But I shouldn't have come between you and her and a reconciliation. _You_ loved her.”

Johnny nods. “I did. Doesn’t really matter, though. She got away. I’m glad.”

Daniel turns to fully face Johnny. “Nah, come on. Look, I know that things were crazy, but you weren’t… I mean you’re not…”

Johnny huffs out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, I am.” He throws down some cash and gets up. “Come on, Danielle. Let’s get you home.”

Daniel sighs and frowns when he sees that Johnny has paid for both of their drinks and then quite a tip on top of it. He rushes out the door to catch up and sits in the passenger seat watching as Johnny fidgets with the keys. “Everything alright?”

Johnny shakes his head. “Not really. Look… I didn’t get a chance to thank you after everything that happened… at the… with Kreese.” 

Daniel notices how Johnny practically chokes out the older man’s name. “It’s nothing. I mean he-“

“He was going to kill me. You don’t understand.” He leans forward and tries to catch his breath, pressing his forehead gently to the steering wheel. “Forget it.” He sits up and starts the car before heading to the LaRusso’s home. 

“Hey Johnny… can we head to the dojo first?”

Johnny nods. “Sure. No problem. Thanks for coming with me to finalize some of that paperwork. I wasn’t sure exactly what to tell the accountant.”

Daniel stays quiet through the ride and wonders if he’s making the right choice as they continue toward Miyagi-Do. He gets his answer when he sees the look on Johnny’s face as they pull in and stop the car. 

Johnny smiles slightly. “It still floors me sometimes.”

Daniel gets out of the car as Johnny does and leans his arms on top of the car to look over at the other man. “What does?”

Johnny gestures to the home. “It’s so… peaceful. You trained here. I feel like I trained in a boot camp.” 

“Well, we can spar anytime you want, you know. This place makes it seem… more than just sparring. It’s like connecting my mind and body in a way that’s-“

“Okay, put away your essential oils there, Danielle. I get it.” He closes his door and starts heading up to the home. “I mean… I guess a sparring match might be okay. I haven’t had a chance since…”

“Hey, it’s been a week. I get it. We haven’t had time to do much hands on stuff with the kids yet. They’re doing great with each other, though. I’m not sure we need to get involved much.”

Johnny walks into the back gardens and looks around where only just yesterday his students were standing with LaRusso’s for the third time since they joined forces. He sits down on the edge of the deck to look out over the gardens. “I ended things with Carmen.”

Daniel’s eyes widen and he sits down next to him. “What? Why? Is it Ali?”

Johnny shakes his head. “Not really. Ali was my first love. Everyone after her didn’t compare. I just… fell into bed with women who…” He begins to look uncomfortable. “I didn’t have the love life you did.”

Daniel frowns. “What’s that mean? I mean I wasn’t sleeping all over the place. I think Amanda’s maybe my fifth lover and only two before her were actual relationships. I mean I went to enough parties to enjoy myself, you know. Ali… she was my first, though.”

Johnny nods. “Mine, too.” He rolls his shoulders, one at a time, as he looks as if he’s struggling. “Look… I was bad news. Still am. Ali should have left me and I’m glad she did. It turns out I’m not… I’m not worth the…” He sighs. “I made some pretty bad choices.” He looks over at Daniel and then back at the ground. “My stepdad… I told you he was an asshole, but… he was more than that. He was just… _mean_ and I couldn’t do anything. I sat in school and listened to all of those bullshit assemblies about bad touch and getting hit and…” He shrugs. 

Daniel isn’t sure what to do as he really doesn’t know much about Johnny’s home life and he wonders, not for the first time, if there is a lot more to this man than he realized. “Uh… hey, you don’t have to answer, but… did he hit you? I mean was it…”

“Nope. Never laid a hand on me. Not in _any_ way.”

Daniel lets out a sigh of relief. “Oh good… I mean not… I just thought maybe it was…”

Johnny lets out that sad laugh again. “Yeah, I know. That was everyone’s reaction. Mom, my friends, teachers, hell… the fucking therapist mom made me go to after I lost to you in that tournament.” He leans back and looks up again. “Ali was the only person… well, and Bobby… But they were the only ones who didn’t think it was a good thing when I told them he never touched me.”

“What do you mean?”

Johnny shrugs. “It means he never touched me. _Ever._ I don’t remember much about my dad. I know he was loud and I used to play under my bed. I try to pull up more memories from back then, but I just remember being quiet all of the time. I think my mom sent me to someone when I started school because I didn’t talk. And she met Sid and by the time I was six, they were married and I started talking, but… he didn’t like me.”

Daniel moves his legs to sit cross legged on the deck. “What do you mean? You were little.”

“Learning to talk was fine, but he didn’t want to hear it so I used to talk in my room by myself. I’d read out loud, but if it got too loud he’d tell me to shut up. He never hugged me or patted my back in congratulations. He never smiled when I came in. If anything, he _stopped_ smiling when I walked into a room. He treated me like something that he had to _deal_ with. And my mom… she was everything to me, but he didn’t like it when she ‘babied’ me so she kind of… stopped. So I went to school, came home, and just… sat. Sid made me sit at the table for meals, but I wasn’t allowed to talk. And anytime something came up about me, usually because my mom wanted to tell him something I’d done well, Sid would go on and on about how I’m such a worthless piece of shit, how much I bother him, how I can’t do anything right, how I’m a failure and how I’m never going to be anything good for anyone and-“

Johnny sucks in a breath and looks down where Daniel has rested his hand on Johnny’s wrist. Johnny pulls it away slowly and turns his head away, but Daniel doesn’t miss how Johnny wipes at his face. “I never knew… God, I guess nobody thought of that as abuse back then, but-“

Johnny turns on him then. “It _wasn’t!_ He wasn’t… I just told you that he didn’t.”

“Yeah… he did. That’s abuse, Johnny. How would you feel if Miguel or Hawk or any of your kids came to you and told you that was happening to them?”

“That’s different.”

Daniel’s heart breaks a little for all of the time they’ve lost and how he could have shown Johnny that he deserved good things, too, but he was a kid then and these issues would have been impossible to navigate back then. “You said you saw a therapist after the tournament?”

Johnny sighs. “Yeah, I wasn’t really myself after what happened. I couldn’t… I couldn’t think straight.”

“Just from losing to me? You seemed… I mean you congratulated me.”

Johnny shakes his head. “Kreese. When I was 12, I found Cobra Kai and… he made me work and when I cried… when I cried…” He takes a deep breath. “He was just like Sid. He said things to me about how I was weak… a loser… and I cried and he kept me late and… and he kept yelling at me about not being good enough to be his student and how he didn’t want me in his dojo.” He does let out a strangled sob then. “Oh God… I’m just like him.”

“No. No, Johnny, you’re not. I’ve seen you with these kids and yeah, you started out like a bully, but only because you didn’t know anything else. And you let yourself learn and you became someone different. Someone better than Kreese or Sid could ever dream of being. Johnny, please… I don’t know what to do here to help you.” He reaches out to touch his shoulder, but remembers that he didn’t do well earlier when he touched his wrist so he lets his hand drop. “Johnny… you’re not like them.”

Johnny takes another deep breath and calms down enough to continue. “He told me to stop crying and I did. And then he told me he was proud of me and he brought his hand down on my shoulder… told me congratulations. Told me he was _proud_ of me.” He looks Daniel in the eyes then. “From that moment on, I would have done _anything_ for him. _Anything._ ”

Daniel nods, finally understanding a lot more of their rivalry than he ever did before. “And the way he treated you… afterward…”

Johnny nods. “Yeah, I wanted to die. I wanted to just… fade away. So I went to my room and that’s where I stayed. I missed the last few days of school before break. I missed most of January.” He frowns. “Bobby is the one who found me. I don’t remember a lot. Sid had taken mom off on some holiday vacation and it was very clear I was not invited. So I didn’t go to school. I don’t really know how many days passed or didn’t pass. I remember hearing my name and Bobby was just… there all of a sudden. And he was angry. I found out years later that he came over because he was worried and he found me in my room. I guess I hadn’t bathed in a long time or eaten much. I don’t know. He told me I was in a bad way. I never got all of the details. I remember sitting on the couch in a robe. I guess he helped me shower…. And there…” He closes his eyes as if falling into the memory. “There was a bowl of soup on the table in the living room and I thought we’d get into trouble for having food there, but then he was talking and he was on the phone… I think mom must have left a number and he found it. And he pushed the phone up to my ear and I could hear her crying. She kept telling me not to go anywhere. I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but then Bobby talked to her again and the next thing I know, he’s staying the night. The next morning, mom and Sid get home and… mom took Bobby out to talk to him and Sid said he’d stay with me. And he sat next to me on the couch and talked real soft… nice…”

Daniel frowns as Johnny is clearly lost completely in the thoughts now. “Johnny… what did he say?”

“He said he wished you’d snapped my neck in the fight. He said my mom was having fun and I ruined it. That I ruin everything. That I will always ruin everything. He said I’m an embarrassment and that he’d give me money to move out. To save my mom from me. He said he always wanted a son and he got me instead and he said that he begged my mom to get rid of me and send me to my dad because… because I made her cry all of the time because of how much of a disappointment I am.”

“None of that is true. Johnny, Sid is… he’s not right. He’s a monster.”

Johnny shakes his head. “Kreese was all I had and I disappointed him, too. And then last week….” He reaches toward his throat and then lets his hand drop. “Nobody… nobody has ever loved me completely. My mom tried. I know she did. But then she died and… She died knowing what I did.”

Daniel frowns. “What did you do?”

“Sid wouldn’t buy me the things that I was used to and mom couldn’t intervene and I was so… so stupid. I wanted to keep my car and my clothes. I wanted to keep everything the same. So…” He shrugs. “I told you Ali was my first, right?” He looks over as Daniel nods. “Yeah, well her mom was my second.”

Daniel’s eyes widen. “What?”

Johnny nods. “I made my way through the mothers of most of my friends. It wasn’t difficult. Their husbands were busy. Sometimes they didn’t pay enough attention to the women at home. And I was always ‘such a handsome boy.’” He sighs. “It started out with helping around the house. I did that a lot. I _always_ tried to do that first. But then… then the women would smile or come out wearing less than they should and they’d ask me to help them with a stuck zipper or putting lotion on them or…” He shrugs. “I don’t think I was really very… confident. But they seemed to like that more. They liked to think they were teaching me things.” He bites down on his lower lip.

Daniel’s mind drifts to Robby and Miguel and the women he knows at the country club and it makes him sick. He can’t imagine that Johnny actually can’t see that this is the same thing. “You know… if Amanda were to do that to Robby or Miguel or Hawk, you’d-“ 

“It’s different.” 

Daniel sighs in frustration. “It’s _not_ different!" 

“I was an adult.” 

“You were still basically a child! Regardless of your age, you went through hell and these women took advantage of-“ 

“Stop…” It was a whispered plea and it was enough to silence Daniel. “Last week… when Kreese fought me… he was going to kill me. He tried and I stopped him and then he nearly… but then you were there. Thank you.” 

Daniel frowns. “Wait… he tried before that?” 

Johnny nods. “He knocked me down and I turned and he had… he had the sai and he was…” He takes a few calming breaths. “I managed to kick it out of his hand.” 

“Oh my God, Johnny, I didn’t know. If I had, I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t have stopped when Sam and Miguel showed up.” 

“I’m glad you did. You’re a better man than I am, LaRusso. You always have been.” He looks up at the stars. “I do want to spar, but not tonight. How would you feel about taking my car and going home?” 

Daniel shakes his head. “No. No way. I’m not leaving you alone.” 

“I was just thinking of staying here. It’s peaceful. I don’t want to go home. I don’t want to be alone there. It doesn’t feel lonely here like it does there.” 

Daniel stands and holds out a hand to Johnny. “Compromise. You come home with me. We get a little drunk. We maybe annoy my family with our shenanigans. Then we sleep.” 

Johnny smiles and takes his hand. “Are you inviting me over for a slumber party, Danielle?” 

Daniel smiles back at him. “Maybe. You’re pretty, but I’m sure Amanda and Sam can help us do our makeup and nails if we ask nice.” 

Johnny laughs then. “Shit… if I have to do girly shit, then you’d best not fall asleep first. I know a lukewarm glass of water that has your hand’s name written on it if you do.” 

Daniel rolls his eyes and walks back to the car with Johnny. He gently takes the keys, sensing how emotionally exhausting the last couple of hours have been. The fact that Johnny doesn’t protest, proves it. He watches as Johnny sinks into the passenger seat, barely getting his seatbelt on before closing his eyes. He drives his former rival to his home and sits there for a few moments in his driveway and wonders how best to help him. He smirks and pulls out his phone to send a text to the one person who always has all the right answers. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel tries to be good at comforting someone, but sometimes he needs a little help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed writing this chapter WAY too much. SPOILERS for Season 3 yet again.

Amanda looks at her phone again and smirks. She walks out and her eyes widen with curiosity to see Johnny Lawrence’s car sitting in her driveway. She narrows her eyes in confusion as she walks over. When the driver’s side window rolls down and she sees her husband, she tilts her head and regards him with amusement. “Okay… you stole his car? Just how many vehicles do you want to replace for this guy?” She crosses her arms elegantly across her chest. 

Daniel smirks. “Very funny.”

“You know, when I got your text to ‘come outside,’ I thought I was in for a surprise. Turns out you’ve made me an accessory to grand theft auto. I thought you just went to see him because you were helping him with some paperwork this afternoon. Although now I can see why it took you so long. Did you have to hotwire that thing after you knocked him out because there’s no way he would give it to you without a fight.”

He looks over at Johnny and then back, realizing she can’t see the passenger from her vantage point. He gestures over to the passenger side and Amanda keeps her arms crossed, but bends at the waist to look past him. “Oh God… kidnapping, too?”

Daniel smiles wide then. “Alright alright… you had your fun. Look, he’s having a hard time of it. Like… harder than I ever knew. I… uh…” He frowns then. “Look, I don’t want him to be alone. I think that might be bad. I thought…” He gestures vaguely with his hand. 

She nods and straightens. “You thought you’d bring him here to rub his nose in the fact that you’re successful, have children who will talk to you, and have a smoking hot wife…”

Daniel rolls his eyes. “Wow, you make me sound like a real asshole.”

She smirks. “I call them like I see them.” She leans in again and frowns, looking sad for the other man. “He looks pretty worn out. What the hell were you two doing?”

Daniel shrugs a shoulder. “Talking. He shared some things that I don’t think he meant to. Or maybe he did. But Amanda… I’m not kidding. It’s bad. He acts like it isn’t, but…”

“Bad how?”

Daniel shifts in his seat and checks again to make sure Johnny is still sleeping. “I mean… if Miguel or Robby came to you, even at 18 or 19, and told you that one of the wives at the club flirted with them and basically offered to… take care of them if they were taken care of, too… you know…. I mean… like because their husbands were… busy and maybe neglecting them a bit…”

Amanda’s eyes widen. “No way.”

Daniel nods. “And if you have nobody and you think that’s okay because you miss having nice clothes and um… and even if they are the moms of your friends…” He looks at Amanda pointedly. “…or exes…”

Amanda’s mouth drops open. “Oh my God. I always knew that woman was a slut.” She takes a deep breath and straightens again. “I guess we’d better get him inside.”

Daniel looks relieved. “Really?”

Amanda smiles gently. “Daniel, I don’t know what’s going on with him, but he has a lot of kids who love him and that means something. Despite everything, I’m pretty sure that he deserves to be looked after when things get bad.”

“Yeah, well… that should have happened a long time ago.”

She pats his shoulder. “Anyway, he’s hot so I’m really not opposed to keeping him around.”

Daniel rolls his eyes and grins. “Alright alright… get out of here. I don’t know that he’s going to be happy knowing you sat here and ogled him while he slept.”

She shoots him a mischievous smirk. “What he doesn’t know….” She turns and walks back into the house and Daniel can’t help but watch her hips sway and get a bit distracted. 

He turns back to wake Johnny when he sees the other man furrow his brow. His breath catches for just a moment and then he starts breathing faster. 

Daniel reaches out to shake his shoulder but thinks better of it as the blonde lets out a groan of distress that becomes almost a whimper. But then it dies down and he’s silent again as if nothing happened at all. Daniel shuts off the engine and finally gets out of the car. He’s relieved to see Johnny stir and look around. The vulnerable and confused look on his face as he tries to figure out where he is distracts Daniel in a way far too similar to how he felt when his wife had walked away from the car. He clears his throat loudly. “Johnny?”

Although muffled by the glass, Johnny turns toward the noise and then looks even more confused. He opens his own door and gets out. “Wait… you seriously brought me to your house?”

“I told you that’s what we were doing.”

“I mean… I didn’t think you meant it.” Johnny shoves his hands in his pockets and looks up at the house. “You really do have a nice house, LaRusso. I’m glad you did well for yourself. You deserved it after all the shit I put you through.” He frowns. “Jesus… what a shitshow that was… high school.”

Daniel shakes his head. “Come on… you said it earlier. We were teenagers.”

Johnny turns and stares at him in disbelief. “That’s true, but… not really an excuse. What did you do to me? You tried to make friends. You flirted with a pretty girl. You stood up for her when she was getting harassed, even though I was surrounded by friends. And then I… I mean I could have really hurt you. You had no training at that point. You were new to town and I fucked you over so you couldn’t even join soccer and that was probably something that would have helped you to feel more at home. Fuck, I even chased you down on your bike. Thinking back…. Fuck, if it was me, I would have been really scared. You had no idea whether you were going to get severely hurt or not. I still remember how you kept looking back at us… Sending you down that hill… Hell, what if you’d hit your head just right on a rock? I mean really… what the fuck was I thinking? Were _any of us_ thinking? How fucking stupid does someone have to be to think that terrorizing a kid who is new and has no friends yet and is completely out of his comfort zone is a good idea?”

Daniel is starting to see that this might be going down a rough path. “Johnny, it’s okay.”

“No. It’s not.” He doesn’t sound angry, just defeated. “Yeah, you ruined a joint and hosed me down with water, but… that was just prank bullshit. Hell, I would have done that to one of my _friends_ if I felt like it. But then you ran and I didn’t just run after you. I got my friends to chase you, too. You just wanted to get home. You could _see_ it. You just had to get over the fence. You _were_ getting over the fence. Being that close to safety just to get ripped down and-“ He takes a step back from the house. “I need my keys, okay?” He looks down at the ground and moves his foot lazily back and forth across the surface of the driveway. “I can get up early… take you to get your car.”

Daniel slowly comes around the car to stand in front of the blonde. “Johnny… what’s going on here? I thought we were good. You said you’d come over… we’d drink a little… remember?”

Johnny finally looks up and he’s not crying, but he still looks like he’s emotionally raw. “What is this? What exactly do you want from me, LaRusso? I don’t…” He shakes his head and swallows hard past the lump in his throat. “I don’t want to teach with you. I don’t want to share the dojo.”

Of all the things that Daniel expected Johnny to say, that wasn’t it. “What? Okay, what the hell are you talking about? We’ve been through all of this. If we want to beat Kreese…” He frowns as he registers Johnny’s flinch. “Is that what this is about? You don’t want to face Kreese? Look, I get he was your mentor. I really do get it, but you have to stop blindly following this guy. Jesus, Johnny… he tried to kill you!”

“You think I don’t know that!” Johnny startles himself with how quickly his voice raises. “I think about all of that stuff I did and it’s so easy to just blame him, but it was _me_! I did that shit. Not him. He wasn’t standing there forcing me to hit you. Your knee… I mean _fuck_ , LaRusso!” He holds out his hand. “Give me my fucking keys!”

Daniel backs up a step. “What about my knee?”

He frowns. “Come on… you already know this shit.”

Daniel shrugs. “Tell me again.”

Johnny leans against the car and puts his hand back in his pocket. “Bobby hated himself for a long time after that, you know. He should have left me. He should have walked away a long time ago and he still stayed. I asked him once… I asked him why he stuck around. He said he thinks a part of him wanted to _save_ me. Can you believe that shit?”

Daniel nods. “Yeah, I can. Think about it, Johnny. From what you’ve said… everyone grew up. People learned how to get along with each other better. Bobby… I do remember him on the mat with me, telling me over and over how sorry he was. I remember thinking that he was a weapon used, not actually the enemy.”

“Yeah? And Kreese was the enemy, right?”

Daniel shakes his head. “In that moment? No. I was pretty damn sure _you_ were the enemy. You were friends with Bobby. He took out my knee. Your buddies were cheering you on and fuck… one of them even said to put me in a body bag. That’s pretty fucked up.” He pauses again as Johnny turns away. “What?”

“It… uh… it was Tommy. The one who said that. He actually um… he died.”

“When the hell did that happen?”

Johnny shrugs. “Remember when Kreese took the dojo? When I was out of town?” At Daniel’s nod, he continues. “So… me, Bobby, and Jimmy took Tommy camping. He’s been sick and we’ve all been trying to look out for him. He did okay for himself. Real close to Jimmy and his family. Jimmy’s doing real good. And Bobby… did I tell you that he’s a pastor?”

Daniel nods absently, still trying to wrap his mind around what Johnny had said. 

“So we get permission to take Tommy out of hospice for a night out. And you know… we were supposed to be his old friends just spending time, maybe holding hands or some shit.”

“Doesn’t really sound like your kind of night out.”

He smiles and shakes his head. “Nah, we ended up getting motorcycles and going to a bar. Got in a really good bar fight. Won it, too. And then we went camping and… we talked, had some beer… I told them about Cobra Kai.” He sighs. “They didn’t like that. Dutch would have, but he’s in prison now. He was always pretty crazy and it just got worse as he got older. But no…. the others were not happy at all.”

Daniel leans against the car, making sure to keep the keys snug in his pocket. “No?”

“They, uh… kept talking about what happened back in the day. They thought it was a bad idea. And then I told them about Kreese and…” He shrugs a shoulder. “I guess seeing him choke me that night was harder on them than I realized. Looking back, I seem to remember them trying to fight him… trying to get me free.” He looks at the brunette then. “But they couldn’t. Then your sensei showed up and-“ He shrugs. “Anyway, we bunked down and when I woke up… Bobby and Jimmy were freaking the fuck out. They kept calling his name. I… I shook him. I kept begging him to wake up. I don’t remember when the ambulance got there. They tried, you know? But there was nothing to do.” He takes his hands out of his pockets and wraps them around himself. “I slept. And he died. How did that happen? He told me that I had time and he didn’t and he wanted me to do something with it. The last time I saw him… _he_ was the one in the body bag and part of me wonders if… maybe by saying something so horrible… because he was supporting _me_ ….”

Daniel’s eyes widen and he stands straight and grips the other man’s upper arms, turning him toward him. “That’s enough! You are _not_ to blame for his death! You’re not to blame for the actions of any of the others! Johnny, I _mean_ it! This is dangerous! You can’t take on all of the bad shit for everyone else!”

The front door opens then and they hear Amanda telling the kids to go back inside, followed by the sound of her heels coming closer. “Hey… what’s going on out here?” She glances over at Daniel. “Why are you yelling?”

Daniel studies Johnny for a moment, but the other man is looking away again. “Johnny wants to end our partnership.” He lets go of the other man. 

Amanda frowns. “You just started this partnership. I know Daniel is a pain, but come on… if I can make it 20 years, certainly you can last a few weeks.”

Daniel sighs and aims an _Are you serious?_ look at her. 

Johnny doesn’t react to the humor, but he’s not offended by it, either. “I can’t have him as an enemy. I _can’t._ You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

Daniel scoffs. “Trust me. I know.” 

Johnny shakes his head. “You know… I saw him after that night. I saw him a lot actually. When my mom found out what I was doing to… get by, she called him. She thought he could help me see the error of my ways or something. So he found me.” He shrugs his shoulders a little. “I don’t really want to go into details, but… he killed a guy.”

Daniel frowns. “He was in combat, right? I mean that happens…”

Johnny shakes his head again. “Nah, not that time. He was in the war, yeah, but he killed his commanding officer. He told me about it… fought him. Stabbed him.” He looks up at Daniel, unaware of Amanda’s frightened gaze. “Tossed him alive into a pit of snakes.”

Amanda brings her hand to her mouth in shock. “Oh my God.... What the hell kind of monster is he? And you… you were trained by him.”

Johnny immediately takes the comment as he hears it. “Yeah… monsters make monsters. It’s why I’m leaving the partnership. I’m poison to those kids, Daniel. You need to train them.”

Amanda shakes her head frantically. “Johnny, no! That’s not what I meant! I just meant… I can’t imagine what it was like for you… to be under his control and unable to fight back.”

Daniel observes the two and decides to see how his wife is going to play this. 

Amanda looks at Daniel helplessly and then reaches out and places her hand on Johnny’s arm. “I… I’m _so_ sorry that happened to you. I’m sorry that the person you were supposed to count on… hurt you and treated you as if you’re not important. You _are_ , okay? And Daniel and I aren’t going to just abandon you. We’ll figure something out.”

Johnny closes his eyes against the emotion trying once again to break free. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. I don’t want to drag anyone else down with me.”

She frowns and finally settles on a plan of action. Amanda straightens up and gives him the _mom look._ “That is about enough…”

Johnny looks up and sees Daniel’s eyebrows have crept up and he’s pretty sure he looks just as surprised at her tone. “Um… I…”

Amanda waves a hand to shut him down. “No. I’m done. Johnny Lawrence, you have fucked up time and time again and while I can appreciate you taking blame for your part in it, I’m not going to sit here and listen to you take the responsibility for that disgusting man who stole your son from you. And make no mistake, we _will_ get him back and I can only hope that we are forced to pry Robby from that old freak’s cold dead hands. But we can’t do that if you two stand out here arguing about what’s going to happen with this dojo.” She runs her hands down over her skirt. “Now, you two are done talking about karate. You will march into that house, be tolerant of my children, and you will both eat pizza with the rest of us and have a good time or so help me God, you will _both_ sleep in the pool house.” She rolls her shoulders. “Do either of you have a problem with that?”

Daniel’s mouth drops open. “What did _I_ do?”

“It’s more about what you didn’t do? When you left today, you were supposed to meet up with Johnny and get some business finished and then maybe get to know him better and form a better bond. Instead, I let you go do this alone and you open him all up emotionally and bring him to me and I gave you _one_ job. You were supposed to bring the hot guy into the house. And then you yell and I come out here and somehow you managed to _break_ him! He’s still hot as hell, but now he’s sad and _you,_ Daniel LaRusso, did nothing to make him better. Do I have to do everything?” She gestures to Johnny, who is stunned, but his eyes are a bit brighter and his lips are turning up at the corners in amusement. 

“I… hey, wait! I didn't do anything! I brought him here and called you and-“

Amanda sighs and loops her arm through Johnny’s. “And thank goodness you did. Left to your own devices, the poor man would drown in his sadness. What type of a host are you, Daniel?” She grins at Johnny. “Now, how about we go inside and order something downright sinful from the local pizzeria?”

Johnny looks a bit unsure and then he smiles and for a moment, both Daniel and Amanda are shocked at how it transforms his face. “Extra cheese?”

Amanda nods. “Sounds good.”

“Beer?”

Amanda shakes her head. “Oh no… none of that swill. Tonight, you will get one of my signature cocktails.”

Johnny frowns. “Jesus… you’re not going to try to get me to drink one of those pansy ass drinks with an umbrella, are you?”

Amanda laughs. “Nope. I’m making you a Trashcan.”

Daniel’s eyes widen. “Amanda… no.”

Amanda starts dragging a not-so-reluctant Johnny toward the house as the blonde turns back toward Daniel and mouths _Trashcan?_

Daniel sighs. “Hey Johnny… fair warning… once it stops tasting like rubbing alcohol, you’re fucked.”

Amanda winks at Johnny then. “Only if you’re lucky.” She smiles as both men choke on a gasp and decides she’s going to make this a fun night for everyone, whether they like it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, she's not serious. Yet. LOL

**Author's Note:**

> I would love feedback. I have been holding off on this while I finish my Stranger Things fics, but I couldn't sit on this one any longer.


End file.
